Lessons from the Establishment of Multipurpose Community Telecentres* Rose John Information and Informatics Division, UNESCO, 1 Rue Miollis, 75732, Paris, France *Presented at the BayBYTES Rural Technology Forum, Port Blandford, Newfoundland, Canada, 29–30 September 1999 (see Note at the end of the paper) Abstract The poorer countries of Africa, especially the most disadvantaged communities are often unable to benefit from the advances in information and communica1tion technologies (ICTs) although several African countries are rapidly mastering these technologies. The reasons include isolation, lack of means, insufficient infrastructure and cultural factors. This is particularly the case in the remote rural areas of Africa where the majority of the people are living. On the other hand they have particularly critical needs for support for development information, education and training, employment opportunities and public services in general as well as community action to improve the situation. African rural economies which depend on agriculture, fishing and small scale industry and business activities, need to be diversified so as to preserve their indigenous character, attract new business and have access to external markets, to decision makers and to information providers. Reports on the pilot projects to establish Multipurpose Community Telecentres (MCTs) in selected African countries by Unesco in collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, the World Bank, UNDP and other agencies. The infrastructure, budget, methodology and strategy adopted to ensure self-sustainability, and other features of the projects including start-up operations and training of personnel are discussed. The lessons learnt from the projects are presented. Top |